Tray with means for automatically lifting its cover



Sept. 8, 1959 A; PETRELLI 2,903,317

I TRAY WITH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY LIFTING ITS COVER Filed June 15, 1956 Arnaldo Pei'rel li.

INVENTOR.

AGENT United States Patent "ice TRAY WITH MEANS FOR AUTOMATICALLY LIFTING ITS COVER Arnaldo Petrelli, Milan, Italy, assignor to Maria Lucia Saccucci, Milan, Italy Application June 15, 1956, Serial No. 591,716

2 Claims. (Cl. 312-284) The invention relates to a serving stand of the kind used in restaurants and the like Where cakes, which remain for a long time on the tables, have to be protected from cigarette ash, smoke and other impurities.

Stands are known having a tray with a cover which can be raised from the tray in order that the purchaser can remove a cake. Such stands operate by the lowering of the tray itself from the cover, the closing being effected by means of springs, hinges or the like: such constructions are complicated. In order to ensure the necessary stability in view of the spring action these known trays must be manufactured of heavy material.

It is an object of the invention to obviate these inconveniences by producing a serving stand in which the use of springs, hinges and the like is eliminated, thus simplifying its construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for positively removing the cover from the tray without sticking as happens in hitherto known stands.

A further object of the invention is to provide a serving stand of such weight and shape that the balance of the stand will not be disturbed when the cover is lifted.

According to the invention a tubular support projects upwards from a tray, a piston being slidably mounted in the support, the upper end of the piston carrying an extension projecting from a transparent cover of inverted cup-shape, the lower end bearing on one end of an externally operable lever. 1

The invention is diagrammatically illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through a serving stand according to the invention, and

Fig. 2 is a corresponding cross-section, taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawing, a lever 1 is pivoted on a bearing member 2 by means of a pivot pin 3, the bearing member 2 extending internally of a base 4 which Patented Sept. 8, 1959 supports the tray 6. One end of the lever 1 is actuated externally, while the other end is shaped in the form of a cam 7a which actuates a piston 7 slidably held in a tube 5, the piston projecting upwardly beyond the surface of the tray 6 supported by the base 4. The piston 7 is recessed at its upper end and is adapted to receive a pin 9 which may be inserted into the cavity 8 so formed, the pin 9 being secured by a screw 10' to a transparent cover 11.

In order to raise the cover, it is suflicient to press down the lever 1 so that the piston 7 rises along with the cover 11. Return to the closed position is by gravity on release of the lever 1.

The invention may be modified within the scope of the claims. For example, the pin 9 may be omitted, thus allowing the cover 11 to be raised directly by the piston. The material used in the construction of the stand and the piston may be of any suitable kind, although a light metal is preferred for the piston.

I claim:

1. A serving stand comprising in combination, a tray, a hollow base centrally supporting said tray, a tubular support rising centrally from said tray, an independent vertical stem slidably guided in said support and extending downwardly into said base, said stem having a recess at its upper end, a cover overlying said tray and said stem, said cover having a depending screw-secured member matingly engaging said recess, thereby removably securing said cover to said stem, the upper part of said tubular support reaching up to the inner surface of the upper wall of said cover when said cover is in its lowermost position, and a lever swingable in a radial vertical plane and anchored to said base in operative engagement with said stern, said lever having an extremity projecting beyond said base for lifting said stem upon a depression of said extremity and having a cam-shaped other extremity within said base, said stem resting on said other extremity, said base enclosing and concealing in its interior said stem and the cam-shaped lever arm.

2. A serving stand according to claim 1, wherein said recess is in the form of a central bore, said depending member being a pin received in said bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 526,144 Carver Sept. 16, 1894 1,100,012. Dudgeon June 16, 1914 2,723,658 Schmieding Nov. 15, 1955 2,740,395 Goodwin Apr. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 619,990 Great Britain Mar. 17, 1949 

